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Hey Y’all! We are back with another WATN, and this time we are focusing on the people who were lucky enough to have a song that was nationally recognized and charted, but unlucky enough to stay in the limelight.

Now, let’s remember that at least they were able to reach success, so they’re not failures, and their journey isn’t done yet. So, let’s see where they are now, and look forward to what they might have in store for us in the future. Are you ready? Let’s get it, starting with…

Hurricane Chris

The Louisiana native first came on the music scene in 2007 with the song “A Bay Bay,” an ode to… I’m not sure. I thought it was an ode to catcalling, but the first lyrics of the song makes you feel as though you can use it for any situation (particularly in one where you’re free to dance barefoot in a hot club. Hey, I didn’t say it!) This was the lead single from his debut album 51/50 Rachet.

After the release of this hit single, he went on to release two more albums. Unleashed had the singles “Halle Berry (She’s Fine),” on it, along with the song “Headboard” that featured Plies and Mario.

Hurricane Chris maintained visibility by doing features, appearing in remixes, and had a beef with fellow rapper Dorrough.

In 2014 Chris released the single Ratchet with rapper Lil Boosie from the soon to be released album Return of the Hurricane.

Even today, there are a lot of theories surrounding Teddy Pendergrass’ car accident. All we really know was that the singer was riding with a transgender woman and was subsequently paralyzed from the accident.

Sadly, folks got very hung up on questioning Teddy’s sexuality and no one really took the time to find out what happened with these two.

So it’s very interesting that the people at OWN, tracked down Tenika Watson, the woman who was riding with Pendergrass the day his life changed forever, told OWN’s cameras, “I never really got a chance to tell my side of things and it was important to me. Very important to me.”

How they met

I met Teddy in the seventies. I was coming down the street where I lived at. It was close to the studio where he recorded. He called me over to his car and it was a Rolls Royce. I thought he was a pimp because I wasn’t really used to people really having Rolls Royces. So that was the first time and I ran from him.

Watson, a former prostitute, told OWN that she was working as a nightclub entertainer and model when she saw Teddy again at a popular club in Philadelphia.

I went over and spoke to him and said hi. And I said I just wanted to speak to you. He said ‘Ok.’ And I said ‘I’m leaving because I have to get up early tomorrow.’ And he said ‘I’m getting ready to leave too. Would you like a ride home.’ So I said sure. So we proceeded to go to his car and drove away and that’s when the accident happened.

The accident and the aftermath

First the car started speeding up really fast. And I was wondering is he driving fast. But he wasn’t. It was out of control. And I noticed he was struggling with the wheel and all of a sudden I heard this great big bang. Next thing I know the press was there and I got into the ambulance with him and I helped him as much as I could.

I had contusions from the impact and I had a chipped tooth, which is nothing compared to him.

I didn’t find out Teddy was paralyzed until it got in the paper. I tried to reach out to him right after the accident. I went to the hospital where he was and there was a woman there. And she said, ‘You’re not going to see him before his son does.’ And she caused this big scene and I just left.

Interesting.

The story, as I’ve heard it, always made it seem like Pendergrass and this woman were in a full fledged relationship. But in reality, they were just meeting.

What do you make of Watson’s story? Is it different from the way you’ve heard it? You can watch the full clip in the video below.

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New Jack City came on VH1 recently, and I was engrossed in it as though I was watching the film for the very first time. I think a lot of people feel that way about the film, because it was just that entertaining. Watching it for the umpteenth time made me wonder: Where has the cast gone? Where are they now?

I did some digging, and here’s what they’re looking like and up to now:

Warner Bros./WENN

Wesley Snipes

Snipes played the hell out of drug kingpin Nino Brown, and we all know that the ’90s were good, if not great, to his career. But everything came to a halt when he spent three years in prison for tax evasion charges (starting in 2010). But since he was released earlier this year, he’s been back to work like he never left. He was just in the Expendables 3 and is about to be in the film, Chronicles of the Mayan Tunnel.

This Sunday, Vivica Fox will sit down with Oprah for her “Where Are They Now” episode. Vivica’s a charismatic lady so you know she and Oprah gelled well together. Plus, Oprah’s able to ask questions most of us can’t get away with. Anyway, during their sit-down she asked Vivica did she ever regret the fact that she didn’t become a mother and her answer was very candid and a bit sad, actually. See what she had to say.

Oprah: Do you ever miss being a mother?Vivica: Of course.Oprah: Really?Vivica: If that’s the biggest regret of my life that I have was that I didn’t have a child but I’m a good godmother.Oprah: Really?Vivica: Oh yeah, I bring the best gifts and throw the best parties. If that’s the one thing that I have a regret about, that would be that I didn’t have a child.Oprah: Really?Vivica: Yes.Oprah: I didn’t expect that answer.Vivica: Yeah, that’s the only thing. I’ll never forget seeing Halle on the red carpet and she’d just had Nahla. And I said, “Wow she so beautiful.” She said, “Vivica if I knew then what I know now I would’ve had 5 of them.” And she said the joy I see in her eyes is just like no other high that I’ve ever experienced so I don’t get to see my eyes in a child.

Wow. It’s so beautiful but also really unfortunate for Vivica, considering it seems like it was clearly something she wanted for her life.

But on a lighter, much more hilarious note, Oprah asked her one of her staple questions: what do you know now that you wish you knew then. I would think Vivica would speak about something in her career. Instead, the conversation veered off into her love life and how she used to get completely distracted by a six pack and a smile.

Oprah: What do you know now, that you wish you had known then that could have saved you so much time?Vivica: Just to have a little bit more patience. Not to basically fall in love so quick. I have a tendency– I would jump into the shallow end of the pool head first. Now I’m a little bit more cautious with getting to know people, especially for my love life.Oprah: So what are you now looking for that you weren’t then?Vivica: Gosh, a man more than anything else. I had to learn to stop dating little boys. I had to learn to stop falling in love with a six pack and a smile, honey. It used to just be the curse for your girl. I did honey. if a six pack and smile came my way, I was just the worse.

I can’t help but think of at least a couple of men she’s referencing. *Calls 50 Cent and Vivica’s former fiancé Omar “Slimm” White to mind.* I know she’s happy to be out of that phase…

You can watch these clips from the interview in the videos on the next page.

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Who knew that Raven-Symoné’s “Where Are They Now” episode would open up such a large can of worms? But her’s did, indeed.

As we mentioned before, Oprah asked her about the now famous tweet about gay marriage, which many took to mean that she, herself, was gay.

And while she did confirm that she was in a relationship with a woman, Raven-Symoné says she doesn’t want to be labeled as gay. In fact, she doesn’t want to be labeled as African American either.

First, the tweet:

“That was my way of saying I’m proud of the country. But, I will say that I’m in an amazing, happy relationship with my partner. A woman. And on the other side, my mother and people in my family, they’ve taught me to keep my personal life to myself as much as possible. So I try my best to hold the fence where I can but I am proud to be who I am and what I am?”

Oprah: So when did you know who you were and what you were?

Raven: In that topic of dating and in love, I knew when I was like twelve. I was looking at everything.

Oprah: Boys and girls? Did you have a word for it?

Raven: I don’t need language. I don’t need a categorizing statement for it.

Oprah: So you don’t want to be labeled gay?

Raven: I don’t’ want to be labeled gay. I want to be labeled, a human who loves humans. I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American, I’m not an African American. I’m an American.

Oprah: Oh girl, don’t set up the Twitter on fire. What?! Oh, my Lord! What did you say?

Raven: I don’t know where my roots go to. I don’t know how far back they go. I don’t know what country in Africa I’m from. But I do know my roots are in Louisiana. I’m an American and that’s a colorless person.

Oprah: I mean, you’re going to get a lot of flack for saying you’re not African American. You know that right?

Raven: I have darker skin, I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian, I connect with Asian, I connect with Black, I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture.

Oprah: You are a melting pot in one body.

Raven: Aren’t we all? Isn’t that what America’s supposed to be?

Oprah: That’s what it’s supposed to be, for sure.

Whew, child! She said a mouthful. And Oprah was right. She set Twitter on fire. The show aired yesterday and as I type this, “Raven Symone” is still trending.

We all have the right to define ourselves for ourselves and I certainly understand not wanting to label yourself as gay when you’re attracted to both sexes and believe love is love but the “not African American” part, is troubling to me. I understand that in this country, where you’re judged firstly and primarily by your color, the label can become heavy and problematic, even dangerous. But doesn’t the choice not to acknowledge it mean, that on some level, you’ve internalized the messages that it’s somehow inferior, or less American? Furthermore, “American” is a label too. (You need only leave this country to see the implications, positive and negative, that it carries.) So, it seems odd to only tell half of the story. You’re American but unless you’re Native American, there’s more to it. And I can’t help but notice that many other races and ethnicities take the time to celebrate those differences. Have you ever heard an Italian American, Mexican American or Chinese American deny their heritage, even if their ancestors have been in this country for centuries?

It just seems that Black people, across the diaspora, keep trying to run away from Africa. And that’s what I don’t understand. A lot of us aren’t able to point to a specific country, but there are tests that could answer that question if you really wanted to know. Honestly though, do you have to know a specific country to know there’s some Africa in you? There’s a reason why Raven, as a “colorless American,” noticed her darker skin and interesting grade of hair. One, because our country has conditioned us to notice and even demonize it, but also because it points to that undeniably African part of her ancestry, whether she wants to label it or not.

I’m not suggesting that Raven is ashamed of her African ancestry; she said she connects with Black culture, but I do wonder why she’s decided to omit it from her story.

What do you think about Raven-Symoné’s comments? Watch this portion of her “Where Are They Now?” interview with Oprah in the video below.

I’ve always liked Raven-Symoné, because despite the fact that so many child stars go through quite a few lows in their careers and personal lives in public, she has always handled herself in a graceful way. She stays out of trouble. She makes her money (a lot of it). She lives life her way. So how was she able to do this as someone who has been in the spotlight for a majority of her life?

Oprah sat down with Symoné for a “Where Are They Now?” episode and the actress explained the role her parents played in keeping her out of the headlines and out of trouble all these years.

“There’s a few answers. My parents taught me to keep my private life private to the best of my ability. They showed me all the role models out there that I could turn into, and what I want for myself in the future. And seeing all of the statistic child stars going off the edge, what I’ve learned is that it’s unnecessary to go to the most popular restaurant in the world when you have a scandal on your head and then get mad that someone’s going to take a picture of it. That’s your fault, boo boo. Stay in the house…”

The interview is this Sunday on OWN. But until then, check out the preview with her comments on staying grounded and out of drama below:

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Let me just say: WOW! I’ve been doing these “Where Are They Now”s for a minute, and I wasn’t expecting the reaction from the first part of the”College Hill” article. But when I asked: “Tell me which ones you wanted to see for part 2 in the comment section,” you all did not fail to deliver.

So, my gift to you, is the second part, including Virginia State University cast, South Beach cast, and Atlanta cast. Now if I included everyone that you all asked for, this article would be 19 pages and I know how you all feel about the multiple pages. So, I’m going to focus on the most requested, and the ones that I could find the most information on.

I hope I make you all happy, let’s get it started with:

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Fame ain’t loyal and these almost favorite celebrities know it better than anyone else. Even though it looked like their careers were headed straight to the top, Hollywood had other plans. But we’re still holding out hope for a comeback!

Image Souce: WENN.com

Bill Bellamy

When Bill Bellamy broke onto the comedy scene he had the charm, looks and talent to take him all the way to A-list celebrity status. But Bill Bellamy never really made it out of the 90s. But now that he’s been slowly popping back onto the scene and we don’t think we’ve heard the last from him yet.

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The impact of “A Different World” cannot be overstated. A television show that inspired students of all races and ethnicities to attend college? That’s major. And although the show has long since been off the air, its impact is still very strong.

So Oprah sat down with some of the cast members for her “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” series on OWN.

As you know, “A Different World” was a spinoff of “The Cosby Show” so the cast took time to pay homage to the genius of Bill Cosby in creating this groundbreaking show.

See what they had to say.

The cast of A Different World will appear on OWN on Sunday, October 26 at 9pm.

Source: OWN

But before you catch up with these folks, Raven Symone sits down with Oprah to speak candidly about her life after childhood super stardom, including the Tweet that presumably announced to the world that she was a lesbian. You can watch Raven’s “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” episode on October 5 at 9pm. On that same day, you’ll have a chance to catch up with Jenna Von Oy (aka Six from “Blossom” and Stevie Van Lowe on “The Parkers.”)

And then on the following Sunday, October 12 you can see what Vivica Fox is doing these days.

Looks like a jam-packed season full of familiar faces. We’re here for it.